politicsandwarfandomcom-20200215-history
Lauri Torni
Lauri Allan Törni (28 May 1919), later known as Larry Thorne, was a Finnish Army captain who led an infantry company in the Finnish Winterand Continuation Wars and moved to the United States after World War II. He fought under three flags: Finnish, German (when he fought the Soviets in World War II), and American (where he was known as Larry Thorne) when he served in U.S. Army Special Forces in the Vietnam War. After the Vietnam War, Lauri returned to the Republic of Finland to lead his country. Early Life and Military Service Christened Lauri Allan Törni, he was born in Karelia, Finland, to a ship captain and his wife. He had two sisters who are still unknown, Törni was an early friend of future Olympic Boxing Gold Medalist Sten Suvio. After attending business school and serving with the Civil Guard, Törni entered military service in 1938, joining the 4th Independent Jaeger Infantry Battalion stationed at Kiviniemi; as the Winter War began in November 1939, his enlistment was extended and his unit confronted invading Russian troops at Rautu. World War 2 During the battles at Lake Ladoga, Törni took part in the annihilation of the encircled Russian divisions in Lemetti. Most of Törni's reputation was based on his successful feats in the Continuation War (1941–44) between the Soviet Union and Finland. In 1943 a famous unit informally named Detachment Törni was created under his command. This was an infantry unit that penetrated deep behind enemy lines and soon enjoyed a reputation on both sides of the front for its combat effectiveness. One of Törni's men was future President of Finland, Mauno Koivisto. The two served together during the Battle of Ilomantsi, which was the final Finnish-Soviet engagement of the Continuation War during July and August 1944. Koivisto participated in the battle as a soldier assigned to a reconnaissance company under the command of Captain Törni. Törni's unit inflicted such heavy casualties on Russian units that the Soviet Army placed a bounty on his head of 3,000,000 Finnish marks. He was decorated with the Mannerheim Crosson 9 July 1944. As his family had been evacuated from Karelia, Törni sought to rejoin them in Helsinki but was arrested by Valpo, the Finnish state police; after escaping, he was arrested a second time in April 1946, and tried for treason for having joined the German army. After a trial from October to November, he received a 6-year sentence in January 1947. Imprisoned at the Turku provincial prison, Törni escaped in June, but was recaptured and sent to the Riihimäki State Prison. Finnish President Juho Paasikivi granted him a pardon. United States Army Törni joined the U.S. Army in 1954 under the provisions of the Lodge-Philbin Act and adopted the name Larry Thorne. In the US Army, he was befriended by a group of Finnish-American officers who came to be known as "Marttinen's Men." With their support, Thorne was soon on his way into the Special Forces. While in the Special Forces, he taught skiing, survival, mountaineering, and guerrilla tactics. In turn he attended airborne school, and advanced in rank; attending Officer Candidate School, he was commissioned as a 1st lieutenant in the Signal Corps in 1957. He later received a regular commission and a promotion to captain in 1960. From 1958-62 he served in the 10th Special Forces Group in West Germany at Bad Tölz, where he was second in command of a search and recovery mission high in the Zagros mountains of Iran, which gained him a notable reputation. In 1962 Thorne is shown as a lieutenant with the 10th Special Forces Group in a United States Army The Big Picture episode. Appearance As a militaristic leader, Törni is always seen wearing his combat uniform when in public. He is also known for wearing a black pauldron, with the Green Protection Agency's coat of arms on it, over his right shoulder while the Finnish flag is stitched on his left sleeve. As for weapons, Törni carries around a Tokarev TT-30 pistol in a holster and a Yugoslav SKS slung over his shoulder. Politics and Leadership Törni, although militaristic, always looks for a peaceful way out of any, and every, engagement. He knows from personal experience how bloody and horrific the battlefield can get. But if he must, he will use military force rather than appeasement. Majority of his military is in reserve to lower the upkeep spent. Green Protection Agency Törni is currently a Director of Internal Affairs in the Green Protection Agency. He focuses on the economics and the admissions, but will help around the alliances when ever new members have questions. When the time comes, Törni will run in the election to become the Triumvir of Internal Affairs. Törni keeps close ties with 0zon3 as if they were brothers. Death After several months in office, Torni disappeared during a live-fire training in which he was leading a spec ops unit through the desert. Neither his body, nor the unit were found. Within a week, all the bodies of the spec ops unit were found among the ruins of a small village along with what seemed to be hundreds of Israeli rebels, yet there were no signs of Torni. It was only until the next week that they found Torni's body in a shack with 12 dead Israeli rebels. The rebels were ID'd as former Sayeret and Mista'arvim soldiers. Once news of Torni's heroic death reached homeland Finland, a large funeral was held in Polaria.__FORCETOC__ __INDEX__ Category:Politics & War Characters Category:Members of Green Protection Agency